Standard surgical procedures for trauma, cancer and transplants in the kidney, liver, and like organs have several key shortcomings affecting efficacy, morbidity and mortality. In an effort to fully remove or resect an organ, the surgeon may be forced to breach the tissue causing a large amount of bleeding. Careful hemostasis can minimize blood loss and complications but is laborious and time consuming using the systems and methods known in the art. Uncontrollable bleeding, for example, is one of the leading causes that prevent such treatments from being offered to patients with cirrhotic livers. In cancer patients, the surgeon must exercise care in an attempt not to allow any tumor cells to remain at a site of resection since any viable tumor cells may cause a recurrence of the cancer and negate the benefit of the procedure. Furthermore, surgeons can reduce the risk of complications by performing these procedures in an expedient manner to minimize anesthesia time and blood loss.
Typical methods for creating resections or controlling bleeding and blood loss include scalpels, electrocautery, ultrasonic scalpels, argon beam coagulators, and radio frequency (RF) surface dissectors. However, these therapies in their present form have several critical drawbacks including: (i) a complete lack or partial inability to create a hemostatic or near-hemostatic resection plane with any significant depth; (ii) a partial or complete lack of ability to make the tissue resection plane unable to support the growth of cancer cells left on the surface; (iii) a partial or complete lack of ability to kill cancerous cells remaining from an in adequate resection margin; (iv) an ability to reduce the operative time and likewise the complications resulting from the prolonged exposure to anesthesia; and (v) an ability to reduce the level of skill required to perform a safe and effective resection thereby allowing a greater availability of the treatment to the patient population.
In the drawings, the same reference numbers identify identical or substantially similar elements or acts. To easily identify the discussion of any particular element or act, the most significant digit or digits in a reference number refer to the Figure number in which that element is first introduced (e.g., element 102 is first introduced and discussed with respect to FIG. 1).